Electroplating-machine.



C. G. MILLER. ELEGTROPLATING MACHNE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 23, 190s.

I I I I I I I 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

IiI |IIII Patented Mar. 7, 1911.

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BLBGTROPLATING MACHINE.

APPLIoATIoN FILED Nov. 2a, 190s.

Patented Mar. '7, 1911-.

3 SHEETS-BHBET 2,

C. G. MILLER.

ELEGTROPLATING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 2s, 190e.

Patented Mar. '7, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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o 0MM@ f @Hwo ('JONS'IANTINEl G. MILLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

' ran srarrns PATENT orrrcn.

'ro THE MEAKEB' ELECTROILATING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1911.

Application led November 23, 1908. Serial N o. 463,950.

To all whom t may concer/n.:

Be it`known that I, CONSTANTINE G. MIL- LER; a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in llectroplatinfr-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the followin is a full, clear, and exact description of te same, reference being had `to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,- which form a part of this specification.

Electroplating is usually a comparatively slow operation, but With 'thevery great demand for such Work owing to the enormous extension in the various arts of the use of plated articles, as, for instance, articles coated with zincor nickel, it has become necessary to provide as nearly as possible a continuously :operating machine whereby the articles may be carried progressively through 4a plating solutionto be automatically discharged from the end of the machine. Such an invention should afford as nearly as possible a' uniform coating of the articles treated, and .itis therefore an object of this invention to provide a Kcontinuously operating electroplating machine of such construction as to enable the articles treated to be given a uniform coating in passing through the bath or electrolyte, and to automatically discharge the articles from the 'oppo'site end of the machine from which they entered. f I

It is also an object of the invention to provide means not only for carrying the articles through the electrolyte while subjecting the same to an electrical current, but as Well to occasionally jar the articles in their passage to insure as well as may be uniformity of deposition as well as to jar or strike the finished articles from the carrier.

It is iinally `an object of the invention to provide a device of the class described in which a very large surface of the metallic anode is exposed to the action of the elec-- trclyte and to aord in connection therewith movable mechanical supports for the articles to be treated and which, While submerging the articles in the electrolyte,'moves the same toward the discharge` position sus-,

pended between the anodes.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and more fully pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

\ In the drawings: Figure 1 is a central vertical section taken longitudinally the machine. Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section-on line 2-2 of 'F ig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section illustrating the electrical connections. Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail in side elevation of the lower Arun ofl the chain showing the samejsupported upon the bus bars. Fig. 5'is a fragmentary, horizontal section taken on line'5-5 of Fig. l. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail illustrating the supportinghooks for the articles to be plated or coated. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the spring impelled jar arms for shaking or striking the articles from the hooks after coating.

As shown in the drawings: A, indicates a tank conveniently constructed of Wood though, obviously, it may be lined Withany suitable material. As shownat the-rear or discharge end of said tank is` provided an upright frame composed ofposts fz-a', two on each side and Whicli'lnay be transversely connected` in any suitable manner to afford rigidity and strength, and journaled upon the uprights a', Which are atthe rear end of the tank is ashaft B, provided on its outer end with a worm gear b, adapted*to be driven by means of a -worm b, on a shaft b2, provided with tight and loose belt pulleys S-b, as is usual.

J ournaled upon a standard C, at the for- .ward end of the tank, is a transverse shaft C', provided centrally with a sprocket wheel '0, thereon. Journaled on adjustable pulley blocks D, of any suitable kind, secured on` the rear end Jof the tank on each side thereof, is a shaft D', corresponding with the 4shaft C', and parallel thereto and provided with a sprocket d, centrally thereon and. in ali-nement with the sprocket Wheel/Qc, on the` vshaft C. A corresponding sprocket Wheel b5. is shaft Wheels is a sprocket or link belt chain E, of any suitable kind or construction, adapted to be run on said sprocket wheels.

As shown, the diameter of the sprocket provided on the shaft 4B, above the Wheels c-d, is such that the lower run of 105 the sprocket chain E, is parallel with the top of the tank, and of course, with the and trained about said sprocket electrolyte in the tank, and secured transl versely on said chain at short intervals apart, are metallic bars e, .which areengaged to the appropriate links of said chain near the middle of each bar. Engaged near each end of each of-said bars, is a downwardly directed hooked wire or rod e, the

. as shown, are round metallic rods connected with one of the leads f3, from the generator F, on which are suspended-the anodes F which hang downwardlyin theelectrolyte in parallel relation with each other and, of course, may be of any desired number, and afford a sufficient surface for the purpose requiredf Said -conductors are connected by a cable f4, with each other at one end of the tank. As shown, the central, parallel bus bars f5, are provided on each side the central conductor F', and as shown, are Vflat bar's of metal, Awhich are supported upon the top of the tank and projecting above the same, and on which the fiat bars e, on the chain, slide and which thus serve to support the lower run of the chain and its load during the plating operation. Said bus bars are connected with the other lead f6, of the generator.

'4 As shownfthe shaft D', with its sprocket wheel d, thereon, is arranged forwardly of the upper shaft B, and its sprocket wheel' end projects to near the extended ends of the hooks e, as they rise from the electrolyte, and is adapted to'receive the articles vsame from the' tank. A\

plating or coating operation and lalso to Athe cam h, thereby .remove the coated articles from the hooks.

For this purpose, as shown, a short shaft H,

is journaled in suitable bearings on thev inner face .of -each of the uprights a', and the ends ite-IL', of which are directed oppositely to provide arms. The arm f1., is curved to provide a cam, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, and is adapted to be engaged by the end of each bar e, to adjust the other arm L, to engage within the hook e. Said armA h', is provided with a hooked end h2, and a spring 11,3, is secured at its ends to the arm and 'bar and acts to throw the hook Il?, Aoutwardly when the bar e, passes removing the articles from the hooks'e.,

The operation is as follows: An operator stands at the receiving end Y, of the tank,

and las the chain travels downwardly toward the tank, engages the articles to be- 'articles to be plated travel longitudinally in the tank between the same, the thickness of the coating may be regulated by the rate of travel and, of course, the current. Having passed through the tank, said articles are raised from the electrolyte upon the upward run of the chain and as the same approach t-he hooked jar arms t-Jz. these, as the successive bars e, engage the arm L, the arms L swing inwardly after which the springs retract the arms h', for their hooked ends to remove the articles from the carrying hooks adapting the articles to fall upon the chute G. Owing to the quick retraction caused by the spring, the arm 71 of the jar mechanism is thrown inwardly to engage the succeeding bar e,- which jars the sup.- porting mechanism and particularly the lower run of thel chain gently, thus tending to constantly shift vthe contactvsurface on the vhook of the article being coated. In this manner, uniformity of the coating is assured.

In use, the outer end of the supporting hook becomes slightly enlarged by the deposition thereon of the plating metal as shown in Fig. 6. ThZis assists in holding the articles (while. coating) on said hooks, and in consequence, there is vlittle or no tendency of the same to fall therefrom to the bottom of the tank.

Of course, other means may be provided for releasing the plated or coated articles from the supporting hooks, the jar arms, however, acting simultaneously and oppositely are very effective and are automatic in operation.

Obviously, the lower run of the chain is at all times supported in horizontal position whatsoever the loadthereon, by means of the bus bars. If the chain should at any time become slack, the adjustment may be quickly made by means of the adjustable bearings I), for the shaft D.

Various details of the construction may be varied. I therefore do not purpose limiting this application for atent otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as Vmy invent-ion:

l. An electroplating machine embracing a tank adapted to contain an electrolyte, re-

V j ournaled taneously removing the articles from ,the

hooks after the hooks are elevated fromthe electrolyte.

2. I n a device ofthe class described a tankl adapted to contain an. electrolyte, bars supported on the tank, anode bars suspended Itherefrom providing a plurality of verticalV passages therebetween7 transverse shafts above the tank, an endless sprocket chain thereon, the lower run of wliic extends parallel to the top of thetank and djacent thereto, conducting bars Asecured to the chain, conducting vertical supporting members elect-ricallyconnected with the conducting bars depending in the verti- 1 cal passages, means for jarring the supporting members, conducting members arranged above the tank and adapted to contact the conducting bars, and to support the lower run of chain, and means for automatically v, engaging the plated articles and pushing the same from said supporting members at the discharge end of the machine.

3. An electroplating machine embracing a tank, conductors extending longitudinally the tank at each side thereof and in the middle, an endless chain movable above the tank, supporting hooks thereon adapted to dip 4into theV electrolyte adJacent the conductors and to aHord support for the articles to be plated and mechanism for engagingand automatically removing the articles from the hooks. l 4. An electroplating machine embracing a tank adapted to contain an electrolyte, parallel conductors in the tank at each side thereof and in the middle, supporting hooks adapted to dip into the electrolyte between the conductors and hooks for disengaging the articles from the supporting hooks.

5. In a device of the class described a tankafford the4 supports Jfor the articles .to'be coated, mechanism adjusted by "the carrier tord engage t-he coated articles and a spring for actuating the mechanism to remove the articles from said carrier.

y7. In a. plating machine the combination with a tank adapted to contain tlie electrolyte, and theyanodes therein, of an endless carrier movable above the tank and horizontal on its lower lap, bus bars supporting said cairier in part, hooks engaged on said carrier and adapted to depend in the electrolyte, between the anodes and to afford the supports for the articles to be coated, and` -automatic means for engaging the articles and removing the same from said carrier and for jarring the horizontal lower lap thereof. 8. The combination with a narrow tank adapted to contain an electrolyte, of anodes l electrically connected and supported in the electrolyte, an endless metallic carrier acting longitudinally of, and above the tank, bus bars on which the lower run of said carrier slides, metallic hooksconnected with the y carriers and dipping into the electrolyte between the anodes and simultaneouslymovable arms, one adapted to strike and vibrate the carrier and the other to remove articles from the hooks.

9. The combination with a narrow tank adapted to contain an electrolyte, of removable anodes electrically connected and supported vin the electrolyte, outwardly directed supports movable longitudinally of the tank, each having .an angularly rdirected eXtremity for supporting the articles to be plated, mechanism operated by the carrier for engaging the coated articles, a spring for actuating the mechanism for discharging the `ccated articles from the angular extremities of the supports and means for articles plated fromk the tank.

10. In an electroplating machine a tank,- individual supports successively movable into and out of the tank and oscillating directing :the

arms, one adapted to automatically remove articles suspended from the supports and the other adapted to strike and jar the supports. Y

11. In an electropl'ating machine rows 0f anodes, successively immersing cathodes adapted to depend articles between the rows of anodes, and connected members for removing the plated articles. from the movable cathodes as said cathodes move therepast and for jarring the immersed cathodes.

l2. An electroplating apparatus comprising a tank for the electrolyte, anode elements supported in rows in the tank-providing/a plurality of passages therebetween, rows of continuously moving cathode elements, one row for each passage and an independent oscillating' member for each row of cathodes adapted to remove the plurality of cathode elements secured to the conveyer and mechanism for engaging and removing each plated article fromk each cathode element.

U14. In a device of the class described a tank, an endless conveyer, carriers for supporting articlesv advanced by said conveyer, and spring actuated members for engaging the articles supported by saidcarriers and removing the same therefrom.

- 15. In a device of the class described a e'tank, cathode elements adapted to support articles, means for advancing the cathode elements and simultaneously movable arms, one adapted to jar the articles While in the tank and the other arm adapted to remove the articles from the cathode elements after said articles are raised from the tank.

16. In `a device of the class described a tank, an endless conveyer, lhooks supported y by the conveyer for supporting articles and simultaneously movable members adapted first to jar the articles supported by the hooks andthen engage the articles and remove them from the hooks.

17. Ina device of the class described a tank for the electrolyte, removable' anodes therein, continuously advancing means for supporting articles to be coated and oscillating means non-connected with theadvancing means for shifting the positionof the articles on the support and removing the articles after the salme are plated.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CONSTANT-INE G. MILLER. 

